1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to surf leash devices for connection between a surfboard and a person's ankle and, more particularly, to a surf leash device having a quick release mechanism to rapidly disconnect a leash or cord from an ankle band of the device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to prevent a surfboard from being carried away by the waves when a surfer wipes out, which would require the surfer to swim great distances each time he/she takes a spill, most surfers wear a leash which connects the surfboard to their left or right ankle. The conventional surf leash consists of an elongate flexible cord which attaches to the surfboard at one end and to an ankle band or collar at the other end. The ankle band wraps around either ankle, depending on which foot is normally positioned rearwardly of the other, and is secured by overlapping velcro patches which maintain the ankle band securely on the ankle so that it will not separate or become detached even if heavy surf conditions. When wearing a surf leash, if a surfer wipes out, the surfboard will only be separated from the surfer by a length of the cord. The surfer can then simply swim to his/her surfboard or pull the cord to retrieve the surfboard.
The widespread use of surf leashes, especially in big surf, has had a positive influence in the reduction of deaths and injury. In the past, surfers have drowned from fatigue after having been forced to swim long distances in rough conditions to retrieve their board. In other instances, runaway surfboards have been known to strike the heads of unsuspecting surfers, causing serious injuries.
However, despite the positive impact of the use of surf leashes in the sport of surfing, the surf leash is also the culprit in many drownings and near death accidents which occur regularly around the world. Leash related deaths and accidents are primarily the result of the leash getting caught on an object underwater following even a routine wipe out. In other cases, the leash has been known to wrap around another surfer, pulling him/her underwater or into the white water of breaking waves. Incidents of this nature often lead to conscious drownings as the victim struggles unsuccessfully to reach the surface.
In recent years, the surf leash has been implicated in the deaths of quite a number of surfers, including a few professional surfers. In many of these accidents, rescuers discover that the leash had gotten hung-up on underwater objects, such as a reef, pipe, or piling, during a wipe out, as both the surfer and his surfboard plunged below the surface. When this happens, a person has, in most cases, less than a minute to get untangled and reach the surface. If the leash is severely caught, a surfer's only hope is to disconnect the leash from his ankle.
Presently, the leash or cord of conventional surf leash assemblies is fixedly secured to the ankle band. Thus, the only way to disconnect the leash from one's leg is to remove the ankle band by pulling and separating overlapping flaps or segments which attach to one another by velcro. This is not an extremely difficult task when one is sitting or standing casually on the beach. However, in a panic situation, when one has only seconds to blindly reach down and feel for the ankle band and find the overlapping flaps which need to be pulled apart, removal of the leash can be a life and death struggle. In fact, in some situations, particularly in heavy surf or current, it is impossible to bend and reach the ankle band with one's hands. This is because the force of the moving water is too great for the surfer to overcome when attempting to bend, grasp the ankle band and manipulate it for removal. It is a situation such as this where a surfer using a conventional leash is doomed.
To overcome this problem of leash removal in panic situations, several quick release devices have been developed in recent years. While most of these quick release devices help to overcome the problem of struggling to undue the ankle band with one's hands, they do not address the situation where it is impossible to reach the ankle band with one's hands. In fact, all of the known quick release leash devices require the user to pull a pin or tab by grasping it with one or more fingers.
Accordingly, there is an urgent need in the field of surfing for a quick release surf leash device which is hands-free and easily operated to disconnect the leash (cord) from the ankle band in virtually any situation.